The New Journey
by Tanzani Coil - The Only
Summary: (Contains VERY MAJOR SPOILERS for LSoDM) Ghastly has a new life. A new life with his mother and his father and with old friends and Tanith. But down in the real world, his friends are taking a risk to bring him back. A risk which is unknowingly going to give Ghastly a terrible, terrible choice...
1. His Journey's End

When he next opened his eyes, he expected to continue choking on the blood that had blocked up his airways, or to feel the weight of a blade on his throat. But no, it took a few seconds for him to realize that he was no longer in the room where his death occurred; that he wasn't been looked down upon by his betrayer, and by the killer that nearly assassinated him so long ago, and by the woman in the veil.

Ghastly was lying down on his back, looking into complete darkness. The thoughts of what just happened were flooding through his mind, and he realized that he wasn't alive anymore.

He was now a _real_ Dead Man.

He slowly stood up, and immediately his hand went to his neck, where he expected a long slit through his flesh would be. He frowned when he found no such thing, and he tried searching for the hole in his back where a knife had struck it. He closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief.

When Ghastly finally looked up, he decided to investigate the darkness that covered the horizon. As he took a few steps, his mind kept coming back to the thought that made him uneasy; 'What happens now?'

A voice; a voice so similar and so beautiful it made his heart skip a beat, interrupted the silence. "I didn't think we'd be seeing you for a long while yet."

He turned around, recognising the voice instantly. Before him stood a figure of muscle and beauty, with her long, tousled hair and her stunning, silvery orbs. She was wearing a leather tunic, with trousers that showed her feminine structure, and when Ghastly looked down further he noticed that she was wearing the boots that he had made for her.

Tanith Low smiled sadly at him, "At least, that is what we had hoped." Her eyes held a great deal of sadness that Ghastly had never seen in them before – and the more he looked into them the more he saw they became moist.

"How are you here? What _is _here?" he asked, shaking his head, but with his gaze still fixed on her. This didn't make any sense – she was talking as if she'd been here a while. But she hadn't died, yet. She was still alive, fighting the war that he had tried so hard to keep away.

She took a step closer, her hand resting on the hilt of the sword that was kept away in its scabbard. "I've been here for a few years now." His confused look made her smile a little. "The remnant that possessed me more than took over me – it may as well have killed what was my old life. That thing took over me completely, and when it bonded to me I... I just _went._"

Ghastly didn't know what to say. If he had known this all along then he would've known that there was little point in trying to find the body that the remnant was possessing. The true woman he loved had died all along. "You don't deserve this." He said, and as he said so realized that there was a lump in his throat that made it hard to speak.

Tanith shook her head. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. The fact that I need to face is that I'm _gone, _and-"

"-You're not _gone._" he interrupted her, shaking his head again. "You're here now. Whatever _here _is." He said, and looked around at the darkness. When his gaze found Tanith again, he remembered just how much he missed her.

She seemed to realize that same thing, and when she smiled the tears in her eyes glistened. "Thank you, so much, Ghastly. You spent the last few years of your life tracking me down and trying to save what was left of me... No one else cared enough."

"But I never showed it to you." Ghastly said quietly. "I never really said anything until I realized that this could be a battle where we both don't come back. But I was too late, wasn't I?"

She gave him a small smile. "You weren't, not really. You still asked me for a dinner that I wanted to be asked for, and I said yes which is something that you wanted me to say." She smiled, but it had something new in it. "And I finally acted upon what I wanted."

Ghastly returned the smile, and when she took the remaining step towards him he leant in, and when she did the same she felt his soft lips against hers. Now that she was so close, he could feel the heat radiating off of her. Ghastly remembered feeling the same all those years ago, when he had been so damn shy of approaching this topic with her. Look where it got him. He lost her then, and despite knowing that he can't lose her anymore, he didn't want to lose her now.

A few seconds passed, and neither of them pulled away. Ghastly's hands found Tanith's waist, and he gently pulled her towards him. They were now both gently pressed against each other, with Ghastly's muscled arms wrapped around Tanith's waistline, and her hands holding his biceps.

She found herself deepening the kiss slightly, and through the kiss she felt Ghastly smiling. After a few moments, she pulled away and sighed slowly in content. Her voice barely a whisper, she said, "You have no idea how much I've wanted that."

He sighed with her. "You don't want to know how much I have." They locked eyes and smiled. They stayed like that for a while, their heads resting against each other, with their heart beats drilling through the silent air around them.

Ghastly finally took in a little breath and pulled away. "So, what happens now? Do we just stay here?"

Tanith grinned and her head motioned behind her. "They're waiting for you."

He frowned. "They?"

She laughed and they started walking towards where her head gestured. "Your mum, your dad, old friends like Larrikin and Hopeless... They're all there." At this, Ghastly's eyes widened and he stopped walking suddenly.

Tanith turned back and noticed his shock. "Just a few more steps and you'll see your mum again. She greeted me when I first came in, and I'm surprised the legends didn't say how _nice _she is." She laughed. "She approves of me, from what she's told me. She's been watching over you, looking out for you." And when she smiled she smiled more gently, and she reached out and touched his arm. "And so have I."

Ghastly's eyes had drifted downwards. His mother. His father. Meeting them again... He hesitated, and he looked up into Tanith's gaze. Her expression softened when she noticed his uncertainty. "It'll be fine, I promise." She said softly, and held out her hand for him to take.

With a smile, he took her hand and they continued to walk a few steps forward. The more they walked, the more the darkness around started to blur, and figures of men, women and children alike were starting to fade into his sight. He could hear laughter, and chatter, and the atmosphere seemed bright and welcoming.

He may have been disappointed in the circumstances of his death, but in some ways it was less painful for him. He may have lived a future where the love of his life wasn't by his side like he had worked so hard for, or where he would have to watch the world fall into chaos like in the visions his mother had.

Ghastly Bespoke looked at the woman he loved beside him and smiled. Tanith was taking him towards friends and family alike. Those who had watched out for him and cared for him through all of these years. Ahead lied a small future where he could spend his time with those he cared for, watching over his friends in the living world like everyone in here has been doing.

A group of people were starting to become clearer, and the nervous feelings in his belly subsided. Ghastly held Tanith's hand tighter, and walked towards the future that he was looking forward to living.


	2. That Won't Stop Us From Trying

Ghastly's life as of now was simple – just the way he liked it. And he couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it. He prefers his life being dead, as he would do alive. In his life as of now, he gets to spend time with his mother and father and old friends, and watch over his other friends like Skulduggery and Valkyrie and Vex and Saracen. He enjoyed every second of it.

He had been speaking to his mother before he excused himself, and went to find Tanith. In this place, in the darkness, you could build walls of shadows to seclude yourself from the others. But of course, it wasn't as if people couldn't go looking for you. Ghastly had been finding himself being alone quite a lot recently, and the one time he noticed Tanith was nowhere nearby, he got worried.

After a while of searching, he finally found her. She was sitting, looking down at the life below them. As Ghastly neared, he noticed Tanith was looking at Alice; Valkyrie's baby sister. He raised an eyebrow, and spoke softly, as not to surprise her. "You wanted to be alone?" He asked, and she turned round and smiled faintly.

"Kinda." She admitted, and then looked back down at the moving images of Alice. "It's just... My body down there is trying to secure the world in a place where Valkyrie and her family _die._" She said, and closed her eyes and sighed. "It just isn't _right._"

"Hey, hey." Ghastly said, concerned, and sat down next to her right side. Tanith leant into his extended arm. "You know that it isn't you, it's merely a body. Just a body. Not you." He squeezed her in his embrace slightly. "We've been through this before."

"I know, but..." She said, exasperated. She sighed in annoyance and closed her eyes.

He kissed her forehead and sighed along with her. "It's natural to feel guilty, but I know that you know there's no need to be." He said, and she nodded.

She turned her head slightly, so she could see Melissa and Desmond walking into the room Alice was sitting, and they started talking and laughing heartily. Tanith felt herself be cascaded in the regrets that she had tried so hard to keep at bay.

Ghastly felt her tense, and he frowned. "You OK?"

Tanith didn't see the point in hiding it, and she curled up against him. "Seeing them so happy, having a kid to love and look after and all that." She sighed. "Don't get me wrong, I loved living life on the edge, being part of the good guys. Battling monsters and rescuing people and beating the bad guys. And back there I had no plans of settling down. But now it's just so _different_."

He couldn't help but find himself surprised, but tried not to show it in both his body language and his expression. "You want a child of your own?"

She tensed, and looked away from Melissa, who was kissing her daughter's head. "I... I yeah. Maybe I do."

Ghastly smiled, and wrapped his other arm around her. She noticed her blush and he chuckled. "You want a child. Tanith Low wants to settle down and have a child." He said and she laughed.

"But just imagine it." She said, he eyes shining. "I can look down at him or her, and grin at what they look like. Maybe they have my nose, and your eyes. And, and knowing us they'd probably have our muscle mass." She grinned and looked up at him. "Just imagine _that._" She said, and he laughed.

Both of them smiling, Ghastly held Tanith's head with his left hand, and she held his shoulder with her right. He leaned in and kissed her softly, and she relaxed considerably in his arms. They stayed like that for a long time, murmuring to each other contentedly and giving each other the occasional long, gentle kiss.

At one point, Tanith sighed, suddenly saddened by something. Her hair fell over her eyes and Ghastly brushed it out of her way, raising a questioning eyebrow. "See, this is the thing that'll always get to me." She said, her eyes down. "I missed any opportunity for any of that, any chance of having a kid, and now I'm in a place where I can't have one." She whispered. "Don't get me wrong, I love you too much to be real, and there's not a moment that goes by where I'm not thankful for this. But... With you, I'd do anything for a child of our own. But we can't have one." She said, her voice bringing a lot of weight.

Ghastly looked down, also disappointed by this fact. He sighed with her, and kissed her tenderly. He took a few moments, but then prodded her chin towards him, and he looked into her eyes. "But that can't stop us from trying." He whispered, and smiled comfortingly to her. Tanith smiled back at him, something new in her expression.

The darkness around them thickened until the two were completely cut off by the rest of the world. Ghastly looked around, confused, but when the realization dawned on him, he grinned knowingly and looked back at Tanith. He leaned in for a kiss, and she kissed him and he kissed her back.


End file.
